Walking the Camino in an Age of Anxiety: The Search for the Medieval Pilgrim

This book will be of special interet to the seasoned traveler who would prefer to make an amazing journey from the comfort of an easy chair. I really enjoyed the author's personal reflections that he placed in the broader perspective of historial and current events. At the end of the book I was able to look back on my own journey through life with greater insight. (Way to go, John H.!)

This book is a fascinating account of an age-old pilgrimage made shortly after the beginning of a new "age of anxiety," that is, 9/11/01. It tells of the fulfillment of the author's dream of traveling the 500-mile Spanish Camino as pilgrims have done through the ages.

As we approach our retirement years many of us dream of attempting some sort of challenge. Few of us would consider walking a month-long, 500 mile pilgrimage across Spain. None of us would even think of attempting such a feat less than two months after heart surgery! As a "short, balding, small-boned, 62-yr-old" recent heart patient, John Pratt shows us that such an adventure is, in fact, possible. We follow John day-by-day as he walks the Camino, while giving the reader careful references to what life was like for the medieval pilgrim. John's book is encouraging reading for those of us looking for our own personal challenge.